Embark…
Two key people in my life have left Columbus…and not just Columbus. They’ve left the country. Noelle (and her good, good husband Daniel) are in Thailand and Beth is in Nicaragua en route to Honduras. They were the 2 reasons I began attending the church I’m attending. They are two people with whom I have much history…which is so rare for me as I’ve moved A LOT. They are two friends that can and do say the things I need to hear…they’re honest and they’ll go there…challenging me, pushing me, questioning me, loving me regardless. It is so bittersweet to send them off. On the one hand, they are where they want to be and where God has called them to be, fulfilling the plan He has for them…being obedient and amazing and I’m so proud of them, there are not even words. On the other hand, they’re far away from me.
I’ve almost always been the one that goes away. I move away, I go away to school, I go away to France, I go away to Georgia, I’m the one that’s done the going in our relationships. So, now to be the one that’s staying is new to me…hard. I’m so proud of them…so want them to be where they want to be…BUT missing them too. I miss knowing that they’re here, easy to access.
We went camping a month or so ago. Well, I guess you could call it camping, kind of…there was a bug or two anyway. As we were driving away and the knot was raising in the back of my throat Beth spoke brilliance. Essentially she does that – speak brilliance. She said that yes, we are saying good-byes and going in different directions. Noelle is moving to Thailand, starting a school, learning a new language and staying indefinitely. Beth is going to Honduras to teach 2nd grade at an International school for at least a year and to be in a region of the world she loves and so longs to serve. And Kara is starting grad school to be a nurse practitioner and ultimately use it to serve on the mission field too. We’re all walking in the plan God has for us…AND we’re beginning and going on adventure together. We won’t be in the same places, we won’t be doing the same things, but we’re all heading into new things at the same time…we’re doing this together.
The past couple days this is one of two facts that have deeply encouraged me. We are on mission, apart, but together. The other is that God is so, so good. I know he sees my tears and my ache, I know he not only sees it, but He cares deeply. And He’s working in and through it to perfect us/me, to draw us deeper into Himself and to bring new and perfect gifts into our lives. I choose to trust He will deepen our friendships with each other, but also provide new, deep and meaningful relationships, valuable friends and family to serve and love and opportunities to function within the Body of Christ that we’ve overlooked previously.
I have friends all over the world. I said to Beth a few days ago, “If it wasn’t for stupid Antarctica, I would have friends on every continent.” She laughed, as faithful friends do, at my offhand perspective of Antarctica …but I do have amazing, mission minded and focused, not-just-saying-but-doing-it kind of friends! I have friends that have themselves been to every continent except Antarctica(…”stupid Antarctica” again). And not just to travel or see or experience but to serve people and to ultimately celebrate and announce the gift, glory and Kingship of Jesus Christ. The brilliance of what Beth said resounds even here. We, as the Body of Christ, are headed in different directions, to different nations, with different ministries and ideas but we do this together. We each have an individual role, a unique position in this plan, but we collectively are pursuing the glory of our God. It’s so beautiful; difficult and hard and even achingly so sometimes, but breathtakingly beautiful.
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